Mswati wants luxury jet as Swazis starve

MBABANE - Parliament has voted to accept a select committee report urging the rejection of government’s controversial purchase of a $72 million luxury jet for King Mswati. Foreign envoys and developmental NGOs have condemned the jet purchase at a time when nearly 40% of adult Swazis are HIV-positive, and over a third of the population is without food and dependent on international donor assistance. Two-thirds of Swazis live in poverty. “The Prime Minister and three cabinet ministers acted beyond their constitutional responsibilities by entering into a financial arrangement and committing national funds in a dubious project,” the committee report stated. Parliament previously voted against the Canadian-built Global Express Bombardier, but was overridden by cabinet.